Originally Posted by
chriskitch
Origin8 is the house brand of j&b importers...Their stuff is largely knockoffs of other company's products that are made for them by asian factories like kalloy (the company that makes the seatpost and stem that come as original equipment on your Surly)...it'll probably serve you as well as anything else in the same price range but I wouldn't swap out any of the stuff on your surly for origin8 stuff unless the original stuff is worn out because it won't be an upgrade so much as it'd be a lateral move...
And don't let anyone let you feel bad about your steamroller....it's a fine bike that'll take a bucketload more abuse than some fancy lugged ultra thin-tubed prissy ride that was designed to be hung on a wall not ridden...
Not really knockoffs so much as sourcing the same parts from the same factory, but slapping on a different brand.
You advice about wearing out the original parts first is spot on (almost). The more you ride (and read) the more you'll understand exactly why and how you want to upgrade your bike. If you just blindly upgrade from the beginning, you are likely to end up just wasting money.